Supreme Court Declines To Hear Lawsuit Against Healthy San Francisco
On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to consider a lawsuit filed by the Golden Gate Restaurant Association against Healthy San Francisco, bringing an end to a legal battle that has lasted since the program's inception in 2006, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Background
Healthy San Francisco requires businesses with 20 or more employees to provide a certain level of health insurance coverage or pay into a city health care pool (Wildermuth, San Francisco Chronicle, 6/29).
Lawmakers approved the program in 2006 to provide health services to 73,000 adult city residents who were not eligible for Medi-Cal -- California's Medicaid program -- or for Medicare. More than 53,000 individuals currently receive coverage through the program, city officials say (California Healthline, 6/1).
Lawsuit Details
In its suit, GGRA argued that the city is not authorized to compel companies to pay for workers' health benefits (Sherbert, San Francisco Examiner, 6/29). In 2008, a federal appeals court rejected GGRA's argument (San Francisco Chronicle, 6/29).
Earlier this month, the Obama administration urged the court to dismiss an appeal by the restaurant association, saying that the passage of the new health reform law meant the Supreme Court no longer needed to address the issues raised in the suit (Duxbury, San Francisco Business Times, 6/28).
San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom (D) said the ruling is a "victory" for residents enrolled in Healthy San Francisco (San Francisco Chronicle, 6/29).
Broadcast Coverage
KCBS on Monday reported on the Supreme Court's decision. The segment includes comments from Hastings Law School Professor Rory Little (Taylor, KCBS, 6/28).
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